6 year CPAP user. Should I try Auto?

I have been using the SleepEasy CPAP machine for over 6 years on a 12 setting. My doctor told me it was time for a new machine and gave me a prescription for a new machine on the same 12 setting. Through my DME I have the choice of two machines that are both Auto. They are the Icon+ auto and the AirSense 10 auto. I do not believe auto was around the last time I got a new machine. I was told that even though I would be getting an auto machine I would not be using the auto feature since my doctor specifically asked for the 12 setting. Should I ask my doctor to consider rewriting the prescription for an auto instead of the specific 12 setting? The DME representative explained to me that the auto is more for new users and that I probably wouldn't need it. The therapist at my DME seems to be knowledgeable but I wanted to check in here to see if it makes sense to stick with my 12 setting or explore the auto setting. thanks

I too have been on regular CPAP for the past six years. I recently had a new titration study to see if my setting needing updating and the study center recommended a straight CPAP setting. When I went to visit with my PCP regarding the results we talked about the options and I told him I was interested in the new APAP option machines and he was very open to it even though the study recommended a straight setting, he wrote me my Rx for the auto machine I wanted and we discussed a setting range. Now I am impatiently waiting for my new machine to arrive. It can't hurt to speak to your doctor.

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:I have been using the SleepEasy CPAP machine for over 6 years on a 12 setting. My doctor told me it was time for a new machine and gave me a prescription for a new machine on the same 12 setting. Through my DME I have the choice of two machines that are both Auto. They are the Icon+ auto and the AirSense 10 auto. I do not believe auto was around the last time I got a new machine. I was told that even though I would be getting an auto machine I would not be using the auto feature since my doctor specifically asked for the 12 setting. Should I ask my doctor to consider rewriting the prescription for an auto instead of the specific 12 setting? The DME representative explained to me that the auto is more for new users and that I probably wouldn't need it. The therapist at my DME seems to be knowledgeable but I wanted to check in here to see if it makes sense to stick with my 12 setting or explore the auto setting. thanks

Of the two machines you have listed, I would recommend the "AirSense 10 Autoset" (make sure it's the Autoset)
At least with an Auto/APAP, you can run in ranges of pressures or set it to your single CPAP pressure if you don't like the changing pressures during the night. APAPs are multi-mode machines with quite a variety of possibilities. There's also another "AirSense 10 Autoset for her" which has some additional options that are even useful for those of the masculine gender (or so I am told). You might look into that one and see if it's what you want, too.

And, I might add that Autos were available long before you started therapy.


Den

.

You can always consider talking to your doctor about trying the apap mode later if you wish. No rush really.
I would suggest getting the ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet though...the data it collects is a little more comprehensive than what the Icon collects and while you may not need it right now you might want it later and it's always nice to have something and not need it than need it and not have it.

Thing is, you can always use Cpap mode with most Apaps, but not vice versa.

Your needed pressure can change, with or without weight changes.
Any time I can avoid a sleep study, I vote to pass in favor of self-titration.
An auto makes this much easier.
Between the two models you mention, I'd JUMP on the Airsense.

Thanks for the replies. I now have a call in with the doctor to get his thoughts on giving auto a try.

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I now have a call in with the doctor to get his thoughts on giving auto a try.

It is your life, your health. Take control.
With software you can have a complete breakdown of your therapy. It is only air. Compare it to diabetes. Nobody runs to the doctor daily to decide their insulin level - they read their meter and adjust their potentially toxic medication accordingly.

BlackSpinner wrote:

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I now have a call in with the doctor to get his thoughts on giving auto a try.

It is your life, your health. Take control.
With software you can have a complete breakdown of your therapy. It is only air. Compare it to diabetes. Nobody runs to the doctor daily to decide their insulin level - they read their meter and adjust their potentially toxic medication accordingly.

I agree that it is my life and I should take control but my DME will not turn on the auto feature unless my Dr writes a prescription for it.

I think you should consider taking the Airsense 10 Autoset, and letting the DME set it for 12 in CPAP mode. This will let you get a good data baseline you can refer to later if YOU want to change to the auto settings. I doubt more than a couple percent of the people on this forum rely on a DME to make any settings, we monitor the effectiveness of our therapy using Sleepyhead software and make our own decisions. http://sleepfiles.com/SH/

Stick with the therapy you have been using and get comfortable with it for a baseline. Only with that can you judge whether a change is actually an improvement.

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:my DME will not turn on the auto feature unless my Dr writes a prescription for it.

You only need to have the DME "turn it on" now if you want to use APAP mode now...and turning it on isn't rocket science.

These machines come with the 2 modes available and there is no real "turning on on now"...there's just choosing which one you want to use now.
Your DME has to choose cpap mode because of the RX but apap mode is still there and you can access it at anytime you want.
APAP mode is always available as a choice of mode of operation.
It can be accessed at any time even if your DME sets the machine to cpap mode right now. They can't stop you from accessing it later.

Go here and download the manual for the AirSense 10 AutoSet and read up on how it is done.

https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I now have a call in with the doctor to get his thoughts on giving auto a try.

It is your life, your health. Take control.
With software you can have a complete breakdown of your therapy. It is only air. Compare it to diabetes. Nobody runs to the doctor daily to decide their insulin level - they read their meter and adjust their potentially toxic medication accordingly.

I agree that it is my life and I should take control but my DME will not turn on the auto feature unless my Dr writes a prescription for it.

The manuals are on line. It was harder to program a VCR.

I will read the documentation that was linked. thanks. Do people with Auto machines use them set up as auto 100% of the time or do they just use the auto feature to figure out which specific pressure setting they should use?

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:I will read the documentation that was linked. thanks. Do people with Auto machines use them set up as auto 100% of the time or do they just use the auto feature to figure out which specific pressure setting they should use?

Both. Put it as 10 - 20 for your situation to see where it ends up most of the time. You are used to 12 so leaving it wide open (4-20) would not feel good. That is how mine is set (9-20), I gave it 7-20 when I first started with it to see what it would do. The days I am more congested or whatever it trends higher, other wise it sits at the bottom number. My AHI is consistently less then one, often zero. One reason to control the top is if you are one those people where higher pressures trigger central apneas (where your brain forgets to breathe). The other is that if you are very sensitive to change and it wakes you up.

ImaginaryHobbes78 wrote:Do people with Auto machines use them set up as auto 100% of the time or do they just use the auto feature to figure out which specific pressure setting they should use?

It sort of depends on what works for a person. Some people don't really like the changing pressures of auto mode and others find they like it really well. When I was using an apap capable machine I used it all the time in apap mode because it suited my needs which were that sometimes I needed substantially higher pressures during the night for what was probably REM stage obstructive apnea events. Using auto adjusting mode let me use around 10 to 12 cm pressure for the bulk of the night and the machine would/could go to 18 (which it did fairly often but only for maybe 30 minutes) if it needed to.
Otherwise I would have needed to use 18 all night to deal with the rare times I needed so much more pressure...and using 18 all night wasn't something I wanted to do.

Now other people may not have the drastic pressure changes that I saw...so they might not need the higher pressures being available...and other people might find that the varying pressures in auto mode caused their sleep quality to deteriorate or wake them up. Some people are just sensitive to pressure changes.

So there is no hard fast rule about using apap mode...it's helpful to have it available though for various reasons.
Some people love it and some people hate it but it is like pretty much everything else about cpap therapy and comes with a big YMMV sticker.

Just because you have it available doesn't mean you just have to use it right now because it's there. That's why we are saying just get the machine now and worry about using APAP mode later. Since you are currently using cpap mode then that is what I would suggest that you start with when using the new machine. Get used to that first and then consider apap mode later if you are curious about it but read up on it so that you understand it (talk to your doctor if you wish) and the pros and cons of apap mode before changing things willy nilly.